1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph. On a Wasaychigan Hill Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, sisters Philomena and Pelajia talk in the mid-morning, nice August day. Pelajia is nailing shingles as she tells her sister of her lusts to go to Toronto. Although it’s called Wasaychian, all the characters living in the community call it “Wasy”. The people on the reserve, all of which women with children and husbands that are not usually there, are obsessed with Bingo. Mainly due to the possible money reward.
2. What is the intrusion? When the women realize that The Biggest Bingo In The World is real. After this is determined, the women have a goal: to go and to win. Before they had no structure, but afterward they made a plan to work, raise money, and drive to the game. This is the seed that sets them into action.
3. What is the unique factor? This is the day that 7 women, all of which from a poor stricken Indian reserve, embark on a roadtrip of emotion bonding and turmoil to try their luck at The Biggest Bingo In The World.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play? Will the women win enough Bingos, especially The Biggest Bingo In The World, to achieve all their goals and improve the overall livelihood of the reserve?
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
Information known to all or most of the characters: that the women are on this reservation, all of which suffering from lack of money, their husbands, if they have one, are off in the city trying to make some ounce of money. Majority characters also know the little personalities and quirks that each of the other know. For example, Annie Cook’s fast walking gait is definitive as her from a distance away to Philomena and Pelajia. However, the things they don’t know, the reasons and backstories to everyone’s characteristics, are to come later in the play
Information known only to one character: back stories along the way that help humanize and give more explanation to their behaviors. For example, Emily Dictionary and her leather motorcycle gang or Zhaboonigan Peterson and her kidnapping and rape incident. However, Zhaboonigan still only shares her story with Nanabush the bird and the audience. It doesn’t seem as if anyone in the play really knows what all happened to her., which still makes it something only one or few characters know.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be. Personally I feel that the most theatrical moment is when Marie-Adele dies. There had been some much rising action to the women finally - after the hectic rush to raise money and the mind numbing road trip - getting to the Biggest Bingo and, in all the craze, Marie-Adele leaves with Nanabush while at the same time Philomena wins $600. Even though these events are not happening in the same area, they’re connected by Nanabush. It seems that Marie-Adele had reached her pinnacle, her goal, and now could subsequently pass on. She would die not knowing if they won or not, which I suppose is better than dying knowing that they didn’t get the $500,000.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
Luck: The whole game of Bingo is based on luck. One cannot control the outcome, just like a person cannot control what happens in life. Marie-Adele dies, ironically during the )biggest) game of Bingo, passes away. Something of which none of them could prevent from having had happened. Although they didn’t win anything, Philomena did get lucky at the same time and win $600.
Feminism: Interesting how none of the male characters are really home. Big Joey is there, but he’s not exactly played in the best light. The female characters are shown as independent, hardworking, go-getters. The fix the huts, they get money though bingo and side jobs, while all the while taking care of children (sometimes 14).
Community: A lot of the women in the play help one another out because they are all facing similar issues as they live on the reserve together. It isn’t until later, after they bond during their road trip, that they start sharing their differences in backstories. However, this is just another sign of community as it shows how familiar they are with one another.
Assimilation: White people either wanted Native Americans to leave or assimilate into a working class American citizen. This is seen through several objects in the play - the tools and their want for things such as pristine, white toilets being one major ones. However, the traditions of the Native American people are still seen within them - through their language, beliefs in Nanabush, etc.
8. What does the chief character want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants? To be honest I don’t think their really can be a main character for this play. If I had to choose, though, I would say Pelajia since she does have multiple lines and is the one who both starts and ends the story. For her, and all the women, it seems as though the main obstacle is money. Which is interesting considering in majority Native American tribes, individualized wealth was not a thing that existed because it showed a sense of hierarchy. Instead they all helped one another out, which in a sense helped the overall performance of the community/tribe as a whole.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
The items the women want: All of the items are things that people usually take for granted. A toilet and stove are things that we (we being majority middle-class and up, those who have enough money to afford things like these) don’t think twice about in day to day life. The addition of this allows viewers to connect the story to their lives as they reflect on the luxuries they have compared to so many others.
Nanabush: The spirit that took the body of both man and bird during the play, Nanabush represents another link of the Native American culture and ritual traditions
Tools: The screwdriver and the hammer are important factors in the play. Tools, another way in which the white man could push Native Americans to be more like them, are generally used to “fix things”. For Zhaboonigan, fixing meant white people trying to to fix her by raping her with a screwdriver. However, for Pelajia, her hammer represented her independence as she tries to fix her house. Maybe this is to show that there are always two sides to a story. On the other hand, Pelajia’s hammer could also show negativity. For one, she is still hammering her shingles in at the end of the story. Not much for her has changed, and the story just seems to have cycled back to the beginning. They still play bingo and they still are having to repair everything of theirs
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play. The play Rez Sisters most importantly shows how people don't have to be blood related to be family. The Rez Sisters were able to pull together a large sum of money (more than enough money to get a new toilet and stove) in which they used to embark on the most emotionally driven I personally have ever read. Ans that wasn’t even the goal of the story! It seems true that the saying, “it’s not where you’re going, but how you get there, that matters”. Their journey together, starting as a community having to live on such a infertile land reserve, had a connecting moment as they all talked to one another during their trip to The Biggest Bingo Game. They bicker like family, console like family, and live as a community, all in support of one another. This shows audience that family may get in hard patches (even deaths in the family) and they may even not like one another at some points, but that doesn’t make them any less of a family.
On a Wasaychigan Hill Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, sisters Philomena and Pelajia talk in the mid-morning, nice August day. Pelajia is nailing shingles as she tells her sister of her lusts to go to Toronto. Although it’s called Wasaychian, all the characters living in the community call it “Wasy”. The people on the reserve, all of which women with children and husbands that are not usually there, are obsessed with Bingo. Mainly due to the possible money reward.
2. What is the intrusion?
When the women realize that The Biggest Bingo In The World is real. After this is determined, the women have a goal: to go and to win. Before they had no structure, but afterward they made a plan to work, raise money, and drive to the game. This is the seed that sets them into action.
3. What is the unique factor?
This is the day that 7 women, all of which from a poor stricken Indian reserve, embark on a roadtrip of emotion bonding and turmoil to try their luck at The Biggest Bingo In The World.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
Will the women win enough Bingos, especially The Biggest Bingo In The World, to achieve all their goals and improve the overall livelihood of the reserve?
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
Personally I feel that the most theatrical moment is when Marie-Adele dies. There had been some much rising action to the women finally - after the hectic rush to raise money and the mind numbing road trip - getting to the Biggest Bingo and, in all the craze, Marie-Adele leaves with Nanabush while at the same time Philomena wins $600. Even though these events are not happening in the same area, they’re connected by Nanabush. It seems that Marie-Adele had reached her pinnacle, her goal, and now could subsequently pass on. She would die not knowing if they won or not, which I suppose is better than dying knowing that they didn’t get the $500,000.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
8. What does the chief character want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants?
To be honest I don’t think their really can be a main character for this play. If I had to choose, though, I would say Pelajia since she does have multiple lines and is the one who both starts and ends the story. For her, and all the women, it seems as though the main obstacle is money. Which is interesting considering in majority Native American tribes, individualized wealth was not a thing that existed because it showed a sense of hierarchy. Instead they all helped one another out, which in a sense helped the overall performance of the community/tribe as a whole.
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
The play Rez Sisters most importantly shows how people don't have to be blood related to be family. The Rez Sisters were able to pull together a large sum of money (more than enough money to get a new toilet and stove) in which they used to embark on the most emotionally driven I personally have ever read. Ans that wasn’t even the goal of the story! It seems true that the saying, “it’s not where you’re going, but how you get there, that matters”. Their journey together, starting as a community having to live on such a infertile land reserve, had a connecting moment as they all talked to one another during their trip to The Biggest Bingo Game. They bicker like family, console like family, and live as a community, all in support of one another. This shows audience that family may get in hard patches (even deaths in the family) and they may even not like one another at some points, but that doesn’t make them any less of a family.